squirmelia | Recent Entries

A man asked me to take his photo next to some words he’d scrawled on the wall and said it was to send to his kids. I agreed as I hadn't put my gloves on at that point.

He thanked me and I walked on and overheard two people saying they couldn't believe they'd found a gold chain. Obviously I had got there too late!

The tide was coming in so I didn't have a lot of time.

Finds include:

A piece of glass that has gone kind of orange.

Melted medieval maltesers. I’m still unsure what these are really - suggestions on a Facebook group have included: grape shot, grinding media from a ball mill, iron ore.

(You need a permit to search or mudlark on the Thames foreshore.)

Low tide was early that Sunday, but a little later in Chelsea, so I headed there on the first train out.

I reached the foreshore around sunrise, but the skies were grey and cloudy. Just past Battersea Bridge, on the foreshore, you can see the remains of trees that once grew there, a forest that is now submerged.

I found:

The largest intact bottle I’ve found so far! It’s about 18cm tall.

United Glass Bottle Manufacturers) apparently used the UGB mark from 1913-1968.
The marks on the bottom look like they say:
H781
UGB
S 28

It possibly contained disinfectant.

Another rounded bottom bottle, perhaps from the 1880s?

A piece of glass that says “W & M”

A piece of glass that looks like it says “edon” but I am not sure of the letters before that.

A mysterious white cube object with patterns that has broken off something. Possibly a spaceship.

A handle from something (possibly bone)

A piece of glass from United Dairies.

A marble

Two and a half buttons.

Part of a ginger beer bottle by W&W. Western and Wolland (W&W) were in business in Bermondsey from about 1865 to 1896, making ginger beer and lemonade. As this bottle is stoneware as opposed to glass, it’s likely to be from the earlier period.

I likely walked past the premises where this was made on the day I found this sherd but didn’t realise at the time.

Part of a bottle that says London on it.

The base of a bottle that says:
London the property of Id (letters cut off)
Not to be refilled
Regd no
853390
B&Co

B&Co could be Bagley & Co.

A green bit of a Batey bottle.

Part of a torpedo (hamilton) bottle. It says on it “E&C” and possibly “waters” and “street”. It also says “rior” - Prior? It is dark green and quite thick glass. Thicker than the other bits of torpedo bottle I’ve found.

A Van Den Bergh & Co gin bottle fragment. This would have been from a Dutch gin bottle from around the 1870s.

(You need a permit to search or mudlark on the Thames foreshore.)

Another dark and wet attempt at mudlarking! At least the tide was going out this time and it wasn't raining to start with.

I don't much like mudlarking in the dark but as I now only have a few months left, it seems like I should do it.

I found a bit more this time:

An ABC sherd - from the Aerated Bread Company.

A piece of a Maling jar, but this is smaller than the usual Maling Newcastle marmalade jars I find and looks like it says “rage” on it. Rage flavour jam, perhaps.

“Trent” - pottery made by Trent Reznor.

A curious piece that has “London” written on it, and some buildings that are either on a scroll or on the back of a swan. I can’t read what the other word says on it as a number is stamped over the top.

A sherd with 033 on it.

A sherd that looks like it says Cox on it.

Mann & Co, Staffs.

(You need a permit to search or mudlark on the Thames foreshore.)

It was dark and raining and low tide had already passed. I crossed Blackfriars bridge and hesitated about going down to the foreshore. I found just a piece of Staffordshire style combed Slipware before giving up.

(You need a permit to search or mudlark on the Thames foreshore.)

A lunchtime lark. “Have you found anything?” the tourists asked and I told them I hadn't.

I headed underneath the wharf, further from tourists.

I walked back up the steps and a man asked me what I was looking for and I told him anything, and that I'd found bits of pottery and glass. He sounded disappointed when I said I hadn't found any coins.

Finds including:

A piece of a bottle that is rounded on the end and is quite thick glass. Different design to the usual torpedo bottles, but presumably also designed to be stored on its side. Possibly 1880s? Seems like these ones: https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/85594594/1800s-round-bottom-bottle-collection-set?show_sold_out_detail=1&ref=nla_listing_details

A few pieces of Westerwald salt glazed stoneware.

A sherd that says “FPC” on it, which stands for Fine Pottery Company. This could be from the 1980s. Perhaps it has this kind of print: https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/4351064965/vintage-fpc-england-stoneware-mugs?show_sold_out_detail=1&ref=nla_listing_details

A stone with a face.

Half a stone marble? It has a little green leaf pattern on the side and a zig-zag pattern on top.

A glass thing that looks like it has something metal inside it. Not sure what this has broken off of.

(You need a permit to search or mudlark on the Thames foreshore.)

I miscalculated and only gave myself just over an hour on the foreshore before I had to be elsewhere but perhaps that was just as well as it was cold.

This time I wore gloves underneath my plastic gloves and thicker socks under my wellies and that helped me to keep warmer.

There were plenty of tourists, both on the foreshore and staring down at me, which is why I prefer to avoid this bit at weekends, unless it's early.

I found my second glowstick, and also some sherds including:

Four pieces of Express Dairies Aster pattern
Brown piece of Dudson
Some delicious strawberries
Dunn Bennett & co
J & G Meakin

A mysterious piece that says “Drew” and “Circus”. Wondering if it could be from St Andrew St, Holborn Circus, but difficult to tell.

Also, what I think is a bobbin, possibly bone and possibly for lace.

(You need a permit to search or mudlark on the Thames foreshore.)

A brief lunchtime wander along the foreshore.

“Have you found anything?” I asked.
“Nothing much,” the mudlark replied.

I did find a leaf sherd though! It looked almost like it could be from Animal Crossing if it had a bite out of it.

(You need a permit to search or mudlark on the Thames foreshore.)

Unexpectedly, I was let out of work early on New Year's Eve so rushed to the foreshore. My trains had engineering work so I had to go a different route but then got on the wrong train from London Bridge and ended up in Norwood Junction, far from the river.

I did eventually make it to the South Bank though. Security were making people detour around the back of Gabriel’s Wharf so wouldn't let me get down the steps to the foreshore there, so I walked back towards Blackfriars and finally made it down.

It was the last day of the year and as the sun set, I was on the foreshore, staring at the Thames.

I found a cowrie shell, which would have been used for trade, as they're not native to the Thames. This is the third one I've found.

I found a piece of Meakin Sol Ware with a sun logo, probably from around 1918 - 1963.

I found another piece of Express Dairies aster design.

I found a piece of Lovatt & Lovatt, Langley Mill, Notts, which would have been from between 1895 and 1930. I mostly find things from London or the Potteries in Stoke-on-Trent, not so much other places.

I found a piece of a Bovril jar! My second Bovril jar, but sadly this one was not in one piece.

I found a sherd that said "ich" on it. I assumed this must be German, but the Prince of Wales’ motto is "Ich dien" (meaning "I serve"), so it’s likely to be from that, maybe a commemorative plate.

(You need a permit to search or mudlark on the Thames foreshore.)

A lunchtime lark and the foreshore was full of tourists.

One man was showing his small daughter how you should scrape the top level off, in an area where no surface disturbance is allowed. That annoyed me.

Anyway, apart from the tourists, there was one other mudlark there that lunchtime, wearing wellies, mostly in the mud.

I didn't find a lot. A chunk of a John Maddock plate, possibly from between 1906 and 1927. I don’t usually find sherds with words on in this area. A bit of a plastic flower. A bit of glass that said 72 on it. A piece of Staffordshire style slipware, some bits of Bellarmine. I was happy to find a button.

It was near to low tide so I walked underneath Grant’s Quay Wharf. It's a bit dark under there so more difficult to mudlark but it feels like you're somewhere secret when you're amongst the wooden struts.

(You need a permit to search or mudlark on the Thames foreshore.)

I was awake at 5AM and I was the only person to get on the first train of the day at my station.

It was Solstice, and at sunrise, I was on the foreshore, staring at the Thames and the pink sky.

I found a broken plastic domino! I found a jack (alley gob) similar to the one I found previously!

–

I found a sherd from an inventor who exhibited in the Great Exhibition at Crystal Palace!

The sherd says 17 Silver-Street, Wood Street on it.

Mayo & Co were located at this address and appear in a catalogue for the Great Exhibition, which was held at Crystal Palace in 1851.

Description from the catalogue:
“Patent syphon vases, for containing aerated or gaseous mineral waters. They afford the means for withdrawing at pleasure such quantities as may be desired, whilst that which remains for subsequent use retains its purity and effervescence. The vases exhibited are specimens of the combination of metal with pottery. The process of manufacture is the invention of the exhibitor.”

Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, 1851:
https://wellcomecollection.org/works/pdp6m5e3/items?canvas=406&manifest=2&shouldScrollToCanvas=true

Silver Street no longer exists, but there is still a small garden - St Olave Silver Street, where a church once stood. There's also a plaque in the garden for Shakespeare as he had lodgings on Silver Street.

–

I found a pink plastic star spokey-dokey, that may once have been attached to a bicycle.

I found an orange button.

I found a stoneware sherd that says “gin”, but it probably contained ginger beer.

Two pieces I haven’t figured out:
The dark brown sherd that has the word “king” visible
The lighter brown sherd that has “N.Higg” visible.

Glass:

–
A good chunk of a bottle that says “216 Kingsland Road” and “Batey” on it. Batey made ginger beer and mineral water and “Batey’s Britannia Steam Works” was located at 216 Kingsland Road from 1847.

How it looked in 1920:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DrLNoPDW4AELDkw?format=jpg&name=medium

212 - 216 Kingsland Road is now the Suleymaniye Mosque.

–

Another piece of a medicine bottle with “Sp” on it, which would have had measurements for tea spoons or table spoons on it.

R Whites, always so much lemonade.

“Ingsland” - likely another Batey.

“Bourne Denby 09” - Probably from 1909.

Not yet identified:

“eet.w.”

“re”

“ford”

–

Dominoes and jacks - the white ones were the ones I found this time:

(You need a permit to search or mudlark on the Thames foreshore.)

Any you'd like to join me for, or do you have any other suggestions I should add?

New things in London:
1. London Museum (opens end of 2026?)
2. V&A East (opens April)
3. Climb on the roof of Alexandra Palace (opens February)
4. Duck tour - amphibious bus
5. Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration (opens May)

Museums to visit in London:
1. Peek Freans Biscuit Museum (Bermondsey)
2. British Vintage Wireless and Television Museum (West Dulwich)
3. London Transport Museum Depot. (Acton)
4. Sewing Machine Museum. (Balham)
5. Freud Museum. (Finchley)
6. Whitewebbs Museum of Transport. (Enfield)
7. Magic Circle Museum. (Euston)
8. Queer Britain Museum. (King’s Cross)
9. Kempton Steam Museum & Kempton Hampton Waterworks railway (Kempton)

Toilets and temples and caves and stars:
1. Go on a tour of public toilets in London. (Loo Tours).
2. Visit the Neasden Temple.
3. Visit Leighton House.
4. Go on a tour of a crypt, at St Alfege. (Greenwich).
5. Try out LARPing or dance at a goth night in Chislehurst Caves.
6. Visit an observatory and look at stars.
7. Sing songs at Maraoke (karaoke where the lyrics are changed to be about video games).
8. See at least 10 more Invaders (street art).
9. Climb the Beckton Alps.
10. Visit the Tower of London.

Robots:
1. Robot coffee
2. Robot bubble tea
3. Robot waiters

Some exhibitions/light festivals that look interesting:
1. Internet Cafe at 1 Poultry (30 January – 7 March 2026)
2. Chiharu Shiota: Threads of Life at the Hayward (17 February - 3 May)
3. The 90s at the Tate Britain (8 October - 14 February 2027)
4. Canary Wharf Winter Lights (January 20 - 31))
5. Vibrance festival of light and sound (January 29 - 30)
6. Robert Cervera - Hiddenware at Space Gallery in Ilford (performances 31 January & 21 March, exhibition until 15 April)

Near London:
1. Foulness Island - either walk the Broomway or visit the information centre.
2. Diggerland
3. Chatham Dockyard
4. Citadel in Dover
5. London bus museum
6. Epping Ongar railway

Tunnels not very close to London:
1. Williamson Tunnels in Liverpool & Mersey Tunnel tour
2. Air raid shelter tour in Bristol & Clifton Suspension Bridge vaults

Even further away:
Will 2026 be the year I fly a one person helium filled airship through a cave, dive in a gasometer, wander through the ghost town of Craco, climb the slag heaps of Charleroi or visit an abandoned gingerbread factory?

1. "What the aliens heard when they landed on Earth" - If aliens landed on Earth, what would the first thing they heard be? Using locations of UFO sightings in London, I will record sounds at these locations. If you touch the location on the map, you can listen to the sounds and also a description of the UFO that was sighted.

2. A pinwheel that you blow on, and then you can hear sounds of the wind on Mars.

3. Items found on the Thames foreshore that you touch and then you can hear sounds of where they originally came from.

It was dark and drizzly and low tide had already passed when I got to the foreshore, so I made a quick dash along, shining my torch, and just picked up a few bits before heading back, as I didn't fancy climbing over the gate.

There’s another bit of a J Bourne bottle that says 1860 on it, and there’s GL, which was probably G.L. Ashworth, and that has a 3 on it, so maybe that’s from the 1930s?

I am not sure what “kha” is from - probably not the mayor.

“Woo” could be Wood & Son.

(You need a permit to mudlark or search on the Thames foreshore.)

This felt like a proper adventure! I walked across a bridge to Albert Island, near to City Airport. It's mostly abandoned at the moment, but there was recent news that Billingsgate and Smithfield Markets will move there.

I peered into a building with broken windows that contained rusty lock machinery.

( Read more... )

(You need a permit to search or mudlark on the Thames foreshore.)

I took my wellies for this lunchtime lark and walked further than I have before, underneath wooden structures, and didn't worry so much about the mud and sinking.

I found a raspberry prunt, Bellarmine jug handles, part of a Bellarmine neck, shiny bits of shells, a few pieces of Westerwald, a purple bead, and glass that says “am”.

I went to Chelsea, down the steps by the boats and walked between Battersea Bridge and Albert Bridge, on the north side of the river. From the bus, I could see rainbows on the river, caused by the reflection of windows.

I spoke to a person on the foreshore and asked them what they'd found and they had found a ring, although a modern one.

I found a chunk of a stoneware ginger beer bottle - Clayton’s. It would have said on it:
Clayton’s
Old English
Stone
Ginger Beer
London and Kingston-on-Thames

I found two buttons.

The bus stop was still there, as well as a Lime bike.

A crisp packet floated by.

I found two stickers, one of which was a festive bauble.

(You need a permit to search or mudlark on the Thames foreshore.)

It was raining so I went for a coffee while waiting for the rain to stop. It eventually did and I walked down onto Ernie’s Beach. It started raining again and I hid underneath Waterloo Bridge for a while. Not pleasant conditions for mudlarking.

Finds included:

Two pieces of Empire Ware. Empire Porcelain Co were based in Hanley and active from 1896 to 1967. https://www.thepotteries.org/allpotters/389.htm
One of these pieces is from the 1930s as Empire conveniently stamped their pottery with the month and year around that time. The 3 is quite visible.

Three pieces of Express Dairies.

It seems it was the river’s birthday. Happy birthday, River Thames!

A lid from something? Or a holder of something. It looks quite new somehow, so could be some kind of religious offering.

(You need a permit to search or mudlark on the Thames foreshore.)

A lunchtime lark and I found some bits of Westerwald, and what looks like a bit of a comb, with nit comb on one side, possibly bone.

(You need a permit to search or mudlark on the Thames foreshore)

I stood on the foreshore at Vauxhall and saw a rainbow appear over the Houses of Parliament, and that was my best find.

There was also a sculpture of a fish on the foreshore, just a metal outline.

Finds included:

A non-spill ink well! It's like magic, water goes in, but does not go out. This is likely Victorian.

A sherd that says “future” on it. This looks fairly modern but I'm not sure where it is from. Did Orange ever have promotional items with “the future is bright, the future is Orange” on them?

A sherd with a little bit of a Christmas tree on it, ready for the festive season!

What I thought was a bracelet, but I think it's actually a religious item - Hindu mala beads for an idol? I might take them back.

I stroked the lion’s mane as I left.

After the past few times of being shouted at on the foreshore, I decided to go somewhere quieter - Wapping. Low tide wasn't until 17:15 so I had a whole day to fill first. I walked from Blackfriars to St Katharine Dock and as I walked past the HMS Belfast decided to jump aboard! I quite enjoyed it, having never visited it before. I also popped in to Southwark Cathedral and saw the latest mudlarking case.

When I got to Wapping, I apologised to photographers as I got in the way of their shots as they were blocking the stairs onto the foreshore. Later on there were a few other people mudlarking, but no-one shouted at me this time!

I walked from the New Crane Stairs to Wapping pier and then overshot the stairs, and panicked that I had read the tide times wrong and that the water had engulfed them. (I hadn't, just walked past them.) The stairs with no lower steps started gushing water so I had to jump the stream there.

Finds weren’t plentiful and I didn't stay until low tide as I was cold and the light was fading.

I did find a nice sherd with a child holding a sprig of something though. I also like the sherd with a tree on it.

Also, what I initially thought was part of a glass bottle turned out to be a glass Exide battery case! It would have contained acid for a battery and is likely to be from the 1930s to 1950s. It may have looked like this originally: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/156007794819

A piece of coral was an interesting find. Coral isn’t native to the Thames, so it’s likely it was used as ballast on a ship, transported from warmer waters, such as the Carribean.

The “warranted ironstone” sherd is again likely to be from John Edwards. https://www.thepotteries.org/allpotters/374.htm

A piece of mochaware.

(You need a permit to search or mudlark on the Thames foreshore.)

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squirmelia

January 2026

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Skyberries and Voidmelons or Voidberries and Skymelons

Recent Entries

Mudlarking 85 - Melted maltesers

Mudlarking 84 - submerged forests and a UGB bottle

Mudlarking 83

Mudlarking 82

Mudlarking 81 - Half a leafy marble and a rounded bottle

Mudlarking 80 - a circus and a bobbin

Mudlarking 79 - leaf

Mudlarking 77 - New Year's Eve

Mudlarking 76 - Grant's Quay Wharf

Mudlarking 75 - Solstice

Things to do in 2026, mostly in London

Three projects for 2026

Mudlarking 73 - dark and drizzly

Mudlarking 72 - An abandoned island

Mudlarking 71

Mudlarking 69 - Ginger beer

Mudlarking 68 - Rain and Empires

Mudlarking 67 - comb

Mudlarking 66 - a rainbow and a non-spill ink well

Mudlarking 65 - a battery and coral

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January 2026

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